Butterball fears holiday could be a turkey

A freezer case of frozen turkeys is seen at Market Basket in Concord, N.H.Larry Crowe/AP Photo

Published November 20. 2013 4:00AM

By CANDICE CHOI AP Food Industry Writer

Publication: The Day

Butterball apparently has a big fat mystery on its hands: The company says it doesn't know why some of its turkeys wouldn't plump up in time for Thanksgiving this year.

CEO Rod Brenneman says in an interview with the AP that it's the first time it happened and that the company is investigating what went wrong. Butterball had announced last week that it will have a limited supply of large, fresh turkeys that are 16 pounds or heavier for the holidays.

"It's a really good question. We don't have an answer yet," Brenneman said when asked about the cause. But he noted that turkeys are "biological creatures" subject to a variety of factors.

"For whatever reason, they just didn't gain quite as well this year," he said.

Like many other turkey producers, Butterball feeds its birds antibiotics to prevent and treat illnesses, which can occur from living in cramped quarters. The use of antibiotics, which also promote growth in livestock, has been the subject of concern that it could lead to antibiotic-resistant germs.

Butterball, a privately held company based in Garner, N.C., declined to say whether it made any changes to its feed formula this year. But the problem seems to have come up rather recently.

For much of the year, Butterball produces turkeys that are frozen and stored until they're ready to be sold for the holidays. But then in October and November, it shifts into production for fresh turkeys. And that's when the company ran into problems with the turkeys not gaining enough weight, Brenneman said.

It hasn't been an issue for some other poultry producers.

"The weather was great, so the turkeys were a little bigger," said Theo Weening, the global meat buyer for Whole Foods Market, which is based in Austin, Texas. The grocer works with smaller suppliers from around the country to sell turkeys that haven't been treated with antibiotics.

Over at meat producer Cargill, spokesman Michael Martin says in an email that the company has never had a problem where its birds didn't put on enough weight to produce an adequate supply of large turkeys.

Mark Kastel, founder of The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based group that advocates for organic farming, noted that major poultry producers tightly control production factors, making Butterball's shortage unusual.

"I thought that was very mysterious. I could not think of a rational explanation," Kastel said, suggesting that a change in the feed formula may have been to blame.

Butterball declined to say whether the issue has been resolved or provide details on the extent of its shortage. But Big Y, a supermarket chain based in Springfield, Mass., said in a statement that it had been notified by the company that orders across the country were cut by 50 percent.

Butterball's shortage shouldn't be a problem for most since fresh turkeys only account for about 15 percent of sales, with frozen turkeys accounting for the rest.

Butterball also makes only about one out of every five turkeys eaten on Thanksgiving.